


Unexpected

by W0rldofmy0wn



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Chloe takes a walk down memory lane, Established Bechloe, F/F, Post PP3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 21:21:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19732012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/W0rldofmy0wn/pseuds/W0rldofmy0wn
Summary: It was unexpected, this thing with Beca. Eight years ago when she was standing next to Aubrey at the activities fair she never would have guessed that the brunette with the many piercings who’d scoffed at the idea of joining an a capella group would be the same woman pressed up against her now, but here they are. Beca Mitchell walked into her life without even meaning to, and now their songs have been interwoven so completely it’s hard to remember what they sounded like separately.orOn the night before little Bella's first birthday party, Chloe recounts the past eight years.





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> I recently re-watched all three of the Pitch Perfect movies and in doing so got this idea in my head, so figured I'd write it out. Hope anyone who takes the time to read it enjoys!

Typically, Chloe Beale is a heavy sleeper. Not the heaviest sleeper - her nearly snoring girlfriend beside her is proof enough of that - but it normally takes something significant to wake her up once she’s fallen asleep. Which is what makes it so strange when she suddenly wakes up one night, pulling herself out of a dream that mashed up the Bellas’ second and third ICCA performances into one, and into full wakefulness. She lays there for a long moment, blinking unnecessarily against the dark of the room, trying to figure out what exactly it was that brought her back to consciousness.  
  
Even in the dark, she can tell nothing is out of place. Beca is on her side next to her, turned away from Chloe but breathing deeply, small sleep noises coming from her side of the bed. Chloe’s shoulder is pressed lightly against her back, and one leg would probably be tangled up with hers if their cat Dixie wasn’t curled up between them. The window is open, and she can hear rain pouring down through it, but it’s the same calming white noise she’s loved ever since she was little, so she can’t imagine that would ever be enough to wake her up.  
  
Whatever the elusive thing is that woke her seems to be gone now, but even so she can’t get back to sleep. For some reason she feels wide awake, something she really shouldn’t be feeling at - she checks her phone, rolling over carefully to grab it from her side table so as not to disturb Beca or Dixie - 2:46 in the morning, but no matter how many times she squeezes her eyes shut to try to convince herself to get back to sleep, it just won’t come. Her fingers begin to tap against the mattress, putting out a mindless beat, but finally she gives in and slowly sits up. She’s quiet as she shuffles off the edge of the bed and slips her feet into the bunny slippers waiting for her on the floor, very much aware of how grumpy her girlfriend will be if she accidentally wakes her up.  
  
A smile tugs at Chloe’s lips as she thinks about it. She has to admit, she kind of loves a grumpy Beca, especially since she now has ways to wipe that grumpiness away with ease. Not that she hasn’t always had a certain special skill at taming her favorite little grump but - now it’s really just more fun than ever.  
  
Chloe manages to slip out of the room with very little sound and is silently praising herself as she closes the door behind her when she turns and immediately stubs her toe on the bookshelf set back against the wall just outside of their bedroom. She takes in a sharp breath and very nearly curses, just managing to hold it in, and then limps down the hall while her toe throbs.  
  
Really, is there anything more painful than a stubbed toe?  
  
By the time she makes it to the end of the hallway - which honestly isn’t that long, considering their new apartment isn’t all that big - Chloe’s managed to push the pain back practically out of her mind. A shiver runs down her spine and she rubs her palms along her bare arms, the open space of their small living room not nearly as warm or cozy as their shared bed had been, so she grabs the thin blanket folded up on the back of the couch and pulls it around her before moving on. What’s supposed to be their second bedroom juts off of the living room, and Chloe turns toward it now, opening the door and flicking on the lightswitch just inside the room, blinking a few times as the sudden brightness invades her vision.  
  
Since they have no need for two bedrooms unless anyone is visiting, they turned this into something like an office space, with a desk pressed up against one wall and a shelf standing tall beside it. Chloe’s grad school books are stacked neatly on the shelf, one even lying with a notebook beside it on the desk, while Beca’s laptop sits front and center, her favorite pair of headphones still plugged into it from when she was working on her latest project only hours earlier. The corners of Chloe’s lips tug up just a fraction as she lightly drags the tips of her fingers over the headphones. She has too many memories to begin to count of Beca with them clapped over her ears, head mindlessly bobbing along to whatever she’s listening to, brow creased as she concentrates. Chloe has never passed up an opportunity to add to her collection of those memories, and knows she never will.  
  
At the end of the desk closest to her there’s another book, and when her eyes flick over to it her smile grows. This book is different from the rest and she grabs it now, holding it gingerly as though too much rough treatment might cause it to disintegrate in her hands. Her thumb brushes gently against the cover, tracing along the writing she added to it shortly before going to bed, and carries it over to the other side of the room where a futon is set up - because while they might not need two bedrooms normally, they are prone to visitors, and always need to have somewhere they can sleep. She settles against it now, pulling the blanket more securely around her shoulders, and crosses her legs to settle the book in her lap. 

_Bella’s Bellas: Your Aca-Family Forever_

Beneath the title is a picture, and Chloe traces the edges of it with a finger tip. It’s of the first time the Bellas met their youngest family member, each and every one of them grinning from ear to ear as they crowd around Stacie, staring at the tiny pink bundle in her arms. Bella’s face is scrunched up and barely visible through the blanket swaddled around her, but Chloe can feel her heart filling now just as it did on that day. In the picture she knows there are tear tracks running down her cheeks but she holds them back now, just smiling as she finally opens the photo album. The picture on the first page is from graduation day, almost the same group from the cover standing in uneven lines and dressed from head to toe in green, and Chloe lets out a light chuckle at the look on each of her sisters’ faces as they celebrate being one step closer to the wonders of true adulthood.  
  
Of course, it took time for each of them to get there, most of all Chloe, and now she flips slowly through the photo album, letting each and every memory wash over her. 

***

Chloe’s fourth year at Barden is the turning point. To what, she doesn’t quite know at the time, but she can feel it, even from the very first day. She starts the school year with only Aubrey beside her and a mission before them: to pick up the slightly damaged pieces of their Bella lives from the year before and prove to the world what a Bella woman - and a true sisterhood - can really do.  
  
She can admit that in the beginning, it’s a daunting task, and by the end of the activities fair she isn’t feeling all that confident. Okay, so maybe she’s even worried, freaking out a little, but that changes before too long. Soon they have auditions and have begun to build their sisterhood back up, and Chloe isn’t worried anymore. There’s work ahead of them, sure, but even after the less-than-successful first rehearsal they have, Chloe truly believes they can do this.  
  
Aubrey, she knows, isn’t as convinced, though she’s determined to smile her way through her terror. After three years of friendship, Chloe knows the difference between Aubrey’s mildly worried smile and her intensely terrified smile, and it’s the latter that seems to be plastered across her face throughout almost the entire year. Chloe does her best to reassure and support her, all while trying to juggle supporting her newest friends as well.  
  
It is, without a doubt, one of the most difficult years of her life, but at the end of it everything works out. The new Bellas finally come together like Chloe knew they could from that very first rehearsal and win the ICCAs, and when that happens every single one of their smiles are genuine and full of so much unbelievable excitement that Chloe’s pretty sure it’s going to be enough to get her through the rest of her life.  
  
Of course, that excitement wanes a little the following week when Aubrey starts talking about graduation and Chloe’s pulse freezes. It’s only in that moment, with less than a month left of the school year, that Chloe truly realizes it’s her senior year. Her _senior year_. She’s been so focused on the ICCAs and building the Bellas back up that it honestly slipped her mind that she was supposed to have been thinking about _after_ this entire time.  
  
_After_ the ICCAs.  
  
_After_ the Bellas.  
  
_After_ graduation.  
  
The thought makes her heart stop, and she’s now more terrified than she’s been all year. More so than when the new Bellas completely tanked their first performance as a team. More so than when she found out she had nodes, or when she decided to do the surgery to remove them. More so than when she was standing in the wings, watching the Trebles perform and knowing that _this was it_. Through each and every one of those terrors she stood strong because she knew - she _knew_ \- that they would get through it. That they would succeed.  
  
Now she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know what she’ll do away from Barden, away from the Bellas. She doesn’t know what she’s supposed to do next, what comes after all of this is in her rear view mirror. She hasn’t given it a single thought until Aubrey starts talking about _next_.  
  
So when it comes time to take her Russian Lit final, it’s just easier to fail. Like, a lot easier; after all, it’s not like she was doing very well in the class before that point. In a normal school year she would have been devoted to her studies and her schoolwork, but this year all her energy had to be devoted to Aubrey and the Bellas (they probably shouldn’t need to be divided since Aubrey is kind of the _captain_ of the Bellas, but well… it hasn’t been an easy year for her best friend). So she doesn’t even have to pretend that the test is hard because it is, and in that moment she accepts that and decides to let herself fail.  
  
(When Aubrey finds out she failed - not that she plans on _ever_ telling her that it was at least a little on purpose - Chloe thinks her best friend’s eyes are going to fall out of her head. Aubrey Posen doesn’t _fail_ , not at anything as long as she can manage to keep her stomach under control, so finding out that her best friend has… it comes as a shock to her, to say the least.)  
  
So the school year ends and graduation takes place, but instead of sitting with her class in green robes she stands in the crowd with the Bellas, practically losing her voice from cheering so loudly when Aubrey’s name is called and the blonde marches across the stage. The green looks good on her, Chloe thinks. Aubrey walks with a confidence that Chloe envies in that moment, because her best friend looks ready; ready to face the world and move on from the safe arms of Barden University.  
  
When a shoulder bumps against her own, Chloe looks over and down - just a bit - to find Beca looking at her out of the corner of her eyes. Her mouth is curved up into something that Chloe knows is meant to be a reassuring smile, and it does the trick. She wipes away the tears that had started to stream down her cheeks and takes a deep breath before letting out another cheer as Aubrey walks off the stage, her smile wide enough to be seen even from where Chloe’s standing. And she knows even from here that it’s a real smile, genuine and proud, with maybe only the smallest touches of fear tucked away in its corners.  
  
That’s good, Chloe thinks. Aubrey’s ready to face the world and she will do so with her shoulders squared and back perfectly straight. Chloe will take another year to find that same confidence for herself, and while she’s searching for it she’ll be surrounded by her sisters.  
  
All in all, she decides, it’s a perfect ending to an amazing year, and she can’t wait to do it all again. 

*

Her fifth year at Barden, and the Bellas get their own house on campus. It’s one of the perks to being national champions she figures, and she is more than happy to move in and away from the dorms (she really wasn’t looking forward to another year of dorm living - one of the few downfalls she was expecting to have to accept during her super senior year). As the senior member, the girls all agree to let her have the attic bedroom, the only single bedroom in the house, and she is more than happy to accept it.  
  
More surprising than the bedroom though is when she somehow ends up as the Bellas’ co-captain. During their first night all together again they gather around in their shared living room, drinks in hand - because it’s still college, even if they have their own house, so _of course_ they’re going to drink their first night back together - and have their first unofficial official Bella meeting of the year. One of the first topics that comes up is the need of a new captain now that Aubrey is gone, and Chloe immediately nominates Beca who - Chloe and the others are all thrilled to see - actually blushes and stammers a few times at the nomination, as though she wasn’t already expecting it. Which, hello, is just insane because she kind of already became their captain at the end of the previous year, but Chloe chooses not to point that out. As soon as she’s done stammering though Beca points to Chloe, quirking an eyebrow and demanding that if she’s going to be captain, then Chloe needs to be her co-captain.  
  
“I can mix the songs, sure, but I don’t know, like, shit about choreography or planning or any of that stuff. So if you want this to go well like _at all_ , you better help me out here Beale.”  
  
The other girls have no problem with this, and when Chloe looks around at them she realizes they were all expecting this maybe as much as Chloe was expecting Beca to be captain, so she doesn’t argue. Can’t argue, really, because there’s a small lump in her throat that would be difficult to talk around, so she just smiles her widest smile at them and nods. They all raise their cups in the air and give a cheer for their new captains, and it makes Chloe’s chest overflow with warm gushy feelings she wouldn’t really know how to describe. (She doesn’t bother to try; she knows too much talk about emotions would push Beca back into her shell and make it that much harder for Chloe to coax her out again, and the rest of the Bellas are happy enough with their drinks and gossip about what everyone did over the summer and the adventures awaiting them this year that they’d be too distracted for it.) Instead she sits there quietly for just a moment and lets the feeling sink in, warming her far more than the alcohol in her cup does.  
  
Right then she knows - it’s going to be a good year.  
  
And it is; it’s possibly the best year of her life, and it’s all because of her new sisters.  
  
There is a distinct difference between the Bellas from her first three years of college, and these Bellas. Don’t get her wrong, Chloe loves each and every Bella, even the ones she hasn’t met. Even Alice. But these Bellas, the ones she met her first senior year and now gets to continue to get to know during her second, these Bellas are her _sisters_ and she spends as much time as possible with each one of them.  
  
There’s only one new Bella this year, and Chloe is the first one to welcome Flo with open arms. Literally, the second Flo steps into the house for initiation night, Chloe has her arms wrapped around her, squealing a very enthusiastic welcome into her ear. Flo doesn’t seem to mind, just lets it roll off of her with some off-handed comment about greetings in her country, and soon she’s moving into the house permanently. Before the newest Bella came into her life, Chloe was _almost_ fluent in Spanish, but after about a month they’re having full conversations in the language, Flo only needing to correct her every now and then. The other girls will try to follow along every now and then, and Chloe will just flash a wink at her new sister as they keep talking. Honestly, Chloe couldn’t think of a better addition to their family.  
  
Within the first couple of weeks of the semester, she and Ashley and Jessica have started a weekly movie night on Tuesdays after rehearsal. They crowd into Ashley and Jessica’s room, put in whatever rom-com that catches their eyes, and then spend the entire movie barely paying any attention to it. Instead they braid each other’s hair, paint their nails, flip through magazines. Gossip. Chloe laughs with them and listens to them, always leaving long after the movie has ended with a grin on her face.  
  
Lilly she cooks with. Not often, but every now and then. It’s never planned; Chloe will just be making dinner, either for herself or any number of the other girls, and Lilly will - suddenly and unexpectedly - show up beside her, staring at her and whatever she’s doing. The first time - okay, and maybe the second and third times, but soon she gets used to it - it startles her, but after a minute she asks Lilly to grab her the pasta from the far cupboard and she does it, whispering something that Chloe can’t quite hear but Lilly doesn’t look upset or worried about anything when she turns back around, so she just smiles at her and takes the pasta. After a minute Lilly starts in on a beat and Chloe picks it up quickly, and soon they’re singing together while the dinner cooks.  
  
The second month of the school year Cynthia Rose invites her to a game of poker, and Chloe tags along happily and then surprises everyone by winning the first three hands. She admits then that her grandfather may have taught her a thing or two about the game, and that he’s been winning poker competitions for the last forty-five years. She’s pretty sure Cynthia Rose’s eyes are going to bug out of her head when she admits it, but after that they start playing games more regularly, sometimes with Cynthia Rose’s other friends and other times in the Bella house, either just the two of them or with any of the other girls they can drag into the game.  
  
(It’s during a game between just the two of them that Chloe tells Cynthia Rose about the girl she dated for a few months sophomore year. It’s not that she’s trying to hide it from the other girls - she’ll happily announce to a room full of strangers that she’s attracted to people, not gender, so telling her sisters is nothing - but she figures CR will appreciate it more than the others. She’s very aware of what it’s like to be surrounded by people who don’t entirely understand her own attraction, so she thinks it’s important for Cynthia Rose to know she isn’t alone. There’s a hint of surprise in the other woman’s eyes as she tells her story, but it quickly disappears as Chloe talks. CR calls Alice a bitch when she learns that the girl broke up with Chloe when the former Bella captain wouldn’t let her miss rehearsal to celebrate their four month anniversary - a small thing, maybe, but it was important to both of them, and the final straw after a number of cancelled dates due to the Bellas - and while Chloe tries to defend Alice, secretly she’s thankful for the reaction.  
  
Alice never really liked her anyway.)  
  
Amy is… something else, but that’s not anything Chloe didn’t already know before living with her. She has - by far - the biggest personality of any of them, and that personality pulls even the quietest of the Bellas out of the shadows, even if it’s just to roll their eyes. Nobody is as sure of themselves as Fat Amy is, and Chloe absolutely loves it. Sure, even she sometimes finds Amy a little daunting, but confidence has always been something that has drawn Chloe to people, and Amy has it in spades. Still, even Amy needs quiet time every now and then, something Chloe doesn’t fully learn until almost three and a half months into their new living situation, but when she does discover it she’s the one to show up at Amy’s door, a bowl of candy in one hand and trashy magazines in the other. She likes to think she’s never seen that exact smile flash across Amy’s face before, and she tucks it away into her memory as she settles down on the bed beside the other girl, saying nothing as she hands one of the magazines over and sets the bowl between them.  
  
Stacie has made Chloe laugh from day one. She’s funny and so entirely sure of herself that Chloe just can’t help but admire her. And she’s _smart_. Like, basically genius level. Chloe learned last year that she was a pre-med student of course, but now living with the other girl she gets to see the full extent of what that means. Her own school work is minimal with only two classes - after all, Russian Lit is the only class she needs to graduate, and that’s only offered during the spring semester - so she often offers to help her sisters study, and the pre-med student is always more than happy to take her up on it. Reading Stacie’s organic chem flashcards makes her head spin, and just adds to the level of respect she has for her when Stacie can recite the cards back to her almost verbatim. Honestly, it’s nearly as impressive as her chest, which Chloe tells her one day. Stacie just winks at her, not missing a beat, and Chloe laughs.  
  
And then of course, there’s Beca. Beca, her co-captain. Beca, who’s quickly becoming her best friend.  
  
(Aside from Aubrey. It’s totally okay to have more than one best friend, which she makes sure Aubrey knows during one of their weekly Skype dates. The blonde fully agrees, but that doesn’t stop her from quirking an eyebrow, pursing her lips, and then asking, “But _Beca_? Really Chloe, I still don’t understand. Yes, admittedly she has some talent when it comes to musical arrangements but… her _attitude_. Has she at least taken those ear monstrosities out yet? She’s upholding the Bella captain title now, and that comes with certain responsibilities and an image to maintain.”  
  
“Beca’s doing a great job as captain, Bree! I think you’ll be really proud of her when you see what she’s put together for Regionals,” she assures the other girl. She doesn’t mention that Beca still sports her “ear monstrosities” proudly, or that she actually thinks they’re kind of hot. She doesn’t need Aubrey stressing about her losing her sanity on top of everything else post-Barden life has been hitting her with. Better to keep some things to herself.)  
  
Chloe can see that it takes Beca a while to get comfortable living in the house with all of them, and she gets it. She doesn’t know everything about Beca’s childhood yet, though she’s opened up about some stuff already, but she knows she’s used to being alone. She’s an only child of divorced parents, so moving into a house with eight other women can’t be an easy transition. Chloe takes it upon herself to try to make it as easy for her as possible, which means playing interference between her co-captain and the rest of the household whenever it all gets to be just a little too much for the brunette. And as much as Beca may wish it weren’t so - she has an image to protect, after all - Chloe has never really had a hard time reading her, and now that they live under the same roof and share co-captain responsibilities, it becomes that much easier.  
  
So she can see it at the corners of Beca’s eyes when the noise of their housemates bickering or even just laughing and gossiping begins to grate at her. When that happens, Chloe finds a completely natural way to guide those causing that stress or annoyance out of the room, flashing a wink at Beca behind their backs when the brunette gives her a look of gratitude. She learns quickly that Beca doesn’t like to be disturbed when she’s working on an especially challenging mashup, so she offers her room as a workspace so Beca doesn’t have to worry about Fat Amy or anyone else showing up and interrupting her. When Beca is so absorbed in her music, Chloe’s the one who makes sure she eats, often bringing a plate of something to the brunette’s - or her own - room. She takes care of Beca in a way, and enjoys doing it.  
  
And beyond living together, they fall almost naturally into a rhythm of sharing their co-captain responsibilities. Beca creates the music - she observes the Bellas, pulling together perfect mixes one after another, always highlighting each person’s talents so that nobody is left feeling like they don’t contribute to the group, and Chloe loves every single one of them - and Chloe choreographs it. When they travel, Beca books the buses and hotel rooms, Chloe makes sure everyone has their tickets, luggage, and that they leave _on time_ (that one’s a challenge, but darn it she is not about to let them be late to a single _anything_ ). Beca brings the Bellas together, and Chloe keeps them together.  
  
The two work so well together that the Bellas become something like a musically well-oiled machine, so in sync with each other that it honestly isn’t a surprise when they win the ICCAs for a second year in a row. Chloe feels like she just might pass out from excitement when their names are called to receive that first place trophy, but she expected absolutely nothing else when performing a Beca Mitchell mashup.  
  
So in early May when Chloe once again finds herself sitting with her Russian Lit final in front of her, it isn’t a hard decision to make. Sure, failing again and having to come back for a sixth year of college may look bad on the surface, but there’s nowhere else she’d rather be than in the Bella house surrounded by music and her sisters. Her adviser gives her a look over his glasses when she fails the class for a second time, clearing his throat rather purposefully when he mentions her grade in the general chemistry class she chose to take that semester and compares it to her Russian Lit class - she passed with an B+, which, okay, may make it a little obvious that she very purposefully kept her grade in Russian Lit low so she could decide whether to pass or not with the final, but she figures she can always attribute her success in the science class to Stacie, who did help her study a _ton_.  
  
She announces to the Bellas that she will be returning in the fall with a perfectly happy smile, and at first there’s minor confusion, a few glances, but then they’re all shrugging and returning the smile, joking that it would be a shame to break up their captains anyway, since she and Beca did so well in leading them to victory once - okay, twice - and will no doubt do so again. Beca’s frown lasts for just a beat longer and Chloe meets her eyes and she can see something brewing in them, but when she pulls the smaller girl against her Beca’s arms wrap around her, tighter than usual, and Chloe sinks into the hold.  
  
Yes, Chloe’s going to be a super super senior (is that a thing, or are you only allowed one super?), but most importantly she’s still going to be a Bella, an _active_ Bella, and she’s still going to be with her sisters and friends, and best friend.  
  
She has absolutely no regrets. 

*

Chloe’s sixth year of college isn’t much different from her fifth year, except that it’s even better. She lives her life in music every day, singing with her sisters, growing closer to her sisters, and absolutely loving every second she gets to spend with them. She and Beca remain the co-captains, they welcome in two new Bellas, but neither of them last for more than a month. Apparently they were unaware of just how much time they would need to spend in rehearsal when they decided to sign up, but Chloe just shrugs it off when they quit. It’s a little sad to see them go, but now they’re back to what they were before which honestly just works out better, so she accepts it.  
  
The biggest change of the year comes when Beca comes down to breakfast one morning with most of her piercings taken out. Amy spits her orange juice across the counter, Stacie pokes Beca’s ear before the smaller brunette can dodge her finger, and Flo says a little prayer in Spanish before crossing herself. Beca just rolls her eyes at them all before meeting Chloe’s, who just shrugs and smiles at her, making the brunette’s lips twitch as well. Chloe won’t admit to kind of missing the piercings, but she’ll take Beca’s smile over them any day.  
  
She fails Russian Lit again. She doesn’t even bother to try to look concerned about it when her adviser gives her the same look from last year.  
  
(She passes zoology - again, with some help from Stacie - with an A-. Because why not?)

*

Year seven at Barden is… well, it’s kind of a dumpster fire. A big, steaming dumpster fire of terrible.  
  
It starts before the school year even beginnings. The Bellas have become well-known over the past three years, traveling and performing all over the country to amazing reviews, so it’s an absolute honor when they get invited to sing at the Kennedy Center for the president’s birthday. Chloe practically hyperventilates from nerves and excitement while they’re standing backstage and waiting to go on, but even so she has no doubt they’ll be anything less than - and Beca would hate this - aca-mazing.  
  
Which they are. Until a little wardrobe malfunction results in Fat Amy accidentally flashing her bare vagina to the president, everyone else in attendance, and kind of the world. It is the most mortifying moment of Chloe’s life, and her vagina isn’t even the one on display.  
  
Even so, she’d rather be on that stage with Amy’s vagina rotating above her again than standing there when she hears the president of Barden University say that the Bellas are through. She knew the meeting was going to be bad before they so much as stepped foot into the room, but the second those words come out of his mouth her entire body goes cold and she feels like she’s going to be violently ill. It is, without a doubt, the single worst moment of her life.  
  
Beca saves them. Of course she does, because she’s _Beca_. She convinces everyone trying to tear them down to let them compete in the World Championship of a cappella, and just like that they have a chance again.  
  
Honestly, if Beca wasn’t still dating Jesse Chloe totally would have kissed her right then, she is so relieved. Instead she just crushes the younger woman in a hug that lasts for at least two solid minutes before Beca finally begins to fidget and she has to let her go. The Bellas still have a shot, so Chloe is certain they can do this.  
  
Except something has changed with them this year, and she doesn’t know what it is but it isn’t good. After the Kennedy performance, everything just feels a little off in a way Chloe can’t quite describe. They’re still the Bellas, but their sound is… wrong now. Not right. They welcome a new Bella - even though they’re not supposed to, but Emily is a legacy, and she came to them, so it’s a loophole, okay? - and get to work on preparing for World’s, but something about them is just off and Chloe doesn’t know how to fix it.  
  
It doesn’t help when they meet Das Sound Machine, the German a cappella group that’s stolen their victory tour. Chloe doesn’t typically like to hate anyone, but she hates them. Like, she _hates_ them. They’re getting all the recognition, the limelight that belongs to the Bellas, and Chloe absolutely can’t _stand_ it.  
  
(Why Beca has to suddenly be experiencing something like a gay-awakening due to their leader is beyond Chloe. Yes, she can fully admit that Kommissar is gorgeous, a modern-day Amazon with legs for days, but come on, _she is the enemy_. If it were anyone else making Beca go all tongue-tied and ramble so much Chloe would be right there for her, taking her aside just the two of them so they could talk it out however much Beca needed to, but this Chloe just can’t do. DSM - and their leader - stands in the way of bringing the Bellas back into the spotlight, and Chloe is not about to let that happen.)  
  
She’s sure that the Bellas will get their mojo back, that they’ll get up on stage and be what they were before the Kennedy performance, but instead it feels like every time they get up to sing in front of people they slip further and further away, and Chloe’s seriously starting to lose it. She’s practically hyperventilating every day now, to the point where she’s pretty sure Cynthia Rose has placed a bet on how long it’ll be before she totally loses it and needs to be checked in somewhere for a little professional help. Normally something like that would make her laugh or roll her eyes and smile, but now she can’t even spare the brain capacity to think about anything other than winning World’s. Her temper - usually so under control - becomes shorter now, her patience limited, and she’s pretty sure she’s made Emily cry at least once.  
  
(In her defense though, Emily should have _known better_. You don’t sing an original song during a riff-off. That’s like, a capella 101, and she’s a legacy. Chloe _knows_ Mrs. Junk had to have taught her that. So really, there’s no excuse.  
  
It doesn’t take too long for her to feel guilty about it anyway, and then she’s profusely apologizing to the point where she’s nearly crying, which just brings Emily back to tears again, and poor Beca’s standing off to the side watching them, doing her awkward little sway from foot-to-foot whenever there are intense emotions she has to deal with and Chloe starts to feel guilty about that too. It’s just an aca-vicious cycle.)  
  
Chloe knows she’s the one taking all of this the hardest and maybe she shouldn’t be. She’s pushing them all too hard, she knows that, but she can’t help it. Everyone else is worried, yes, and stressed, but she can tell none of them can quite understand why she’s _so_ stressed over this and she really doesn’t know how to explain it to them.  
  
It isn’t that she needs to be in the spotlight again. It’s not even that she wants to overcome the many embarrassments they’ve faced in the past few months.  
  
It’s _them_ ; she needs the world to see the absolute wonders that are her sisters. More than anyone, Chloe’s been here, she’s seen the rise of the Bellas, from when they were nothing more than the smallest blip on the a cappella map and could barely win a single competition, to being three-time ICCA champions and being asked to perform for the _president_. She needs the world to recognize the amazing women she’s surrounded by because that’s what they _deserve_.  
  
She needs everyone to see Flo’s courage for leaving her country and moving to another where so many don’t want to welcome her, all so she can make a better life for herself. She needs them to see Ashley and Jessica and the unconditional support they give while never once trying to push themselves to the center of attention. The world needs to experience Cynthia Rose’s strength, Lilly’s - albeit a little terrifying - mystery, Amy’s unwavering confidence. Emily’s devotion and desire for a family outside of the loving one she was born into. Stacie is the embodied proof that a woman can enjoy sex and still be smart, and the world needs to see that.  
  
And Beca.  
  
The world needs to see _Beca_. It _deserves_ to see the magic she creates with music. Chloe has spent her entire life in music, feeling it inside her from as far back as she can remember, but music came alive for her when she met Beca, and the world deserves to experience that too. The Bellas have to make it, have to survive this, for the generations of women to come who will be lost and alone without music and without their _sisters_.  
  
And Chloe shouldn’t be the only one who feels this way, but somehow she’s pretty sure she is. She shouldn’t be the only _captain_ who feels this way, but it doesn’t take any time for her to realize she definitely is. Beca’s stressed about it all too, and she cares when she’s here, Chloe knows that, but she’s hardly ever around. For the first time since Beca’s freshman year she’s disappearing again, gone for long chunks of time almost daily, and what annoys Chloe the most about it is that she won’t tell her _why_. They’ve been best friends for two years now, and maybe they don’t quite tell each other everything - Beca will always keep some things to herself, and Chloe understands that and respects it - but she tells her all of the _important_ things. The things that matter. Anything pulling her away from the Bellas in a time of crisis like this has to be important, but the younger captain remains silent, avoiding Chloe’s eyes when she sprints into rehearsals late or leaves the house early in the morning when Chloe knows she doesn’t have a class.  
  
It hurts, being kept in the dark. Hurts enough that she feels the burning in her chest creep up her throat every now and then, but Chloe does her best to swallow it down. Despite what many people think she truly does respect people’s privacy - the shower incident aside - so she doesn’t ask. No matter how much it hurts she doesn’t press Beca about it, doesn’t try to force her to talk about this thing that’s pulling her away from the Bellas. She gives Beca her space, and maybe pushes the Bellas that are around even harder, just so she can try to forget.  
  
Her pushing isn’t working though, and that becomes abundantly clear when Cynthia Rose’s hair catches on fire during what should have been an easy performance. Nothing she’s trying has worked, so Chloe decides it’s time to bring out the big guns. She really just needs to turn things around for the Bellas, and Aubrey was there that first year when things started to turn for them, so she thinks, why not? Admittedly the blonde didn’t entirely help with turning them around right away, but if Chloe knows anything about Aubrey it’s that she always puts her best foot forward, and right now the Bellas definitely need to find solid footing.  
  
It takes a lake, mud, a number of unexpected team building activities, and a yelling match, but they find it.  
  
The yelling is the worst part. Chloe absolutely hates getting angry, especially at someone she loves, but Beca pushes her past the boiling point and she finally lets it all out. Well, maybe not all of it, but she can’t hold herself back anymore and she confronts her, only to learn that Beca’s been hiding an internship from them this entire year. The news is both thrilling - because no matter how Chloe’s feeling, Beca will always deserve to be recognized for her talent - and a punch to the gut - because why would Beca think she couldn’t tell her that from the start? The confrontation probably would have lasted longer with maybe some more yelling, but a well-placed bear trap puts an end to it.  
  
(Thankfully. Chloe really, _really_ hates being angry. When it hits like this, it always comes in as a hot wave she can’t control, but then it’s gone again and all she is left with is guilt. The last time this kind of anger hit her was when Aubrey couldn’t see that Beca was right and they needed to make a change to their set, and she has no desire to wrestle Beca for the pitch pipe while Fat Amy tries to hold them back.  
  
She may be a lot smaller than Aurbey, but Chloe’s pretty sure Beca would put up more of a fight. Not that she would care enough about a pitch pipe to fight, but still…)  
  
It’s later that night, sitting around a fire, when they find their sound again, and Chloe thinks it’s just _right_ that they find it through Beca’s song. Because even now, even though she’s the one who starts singing it, it’s Beca who brings them together.  
  
Chloe keeps them together.  
  
And it’s together that they win World’s with one of Beca’s best mashups yet, and Emily’s original song. Bellas past and present stand together on that stage, showing the world what they can do, and Chloe’s heart absolutely sings as that final spotlight fades on their legacy.

*

(Oh, and before becoming a World’s champion, Chloe passes Russian Lit. The final is honestly easy - fourth time’s the charm, she supposes - and she passes it with an A, which means she’s officially graduating. A week later she dons the robe and sits in a sea of green, surrounded by her classmates and sisters, and when her name is called she crosses that stage to finally - she can see her adviser as she goes, and sees the word echoed in his eyes as he gives her a nod - accept her diploma. The cheers as she crosses sound almost deafening, and she can pick out each one of her sisters in the chaos, and her family behind them.  
  
After seven years, she stands on that stage a winner of three ICCA championships, on her way to a World’s championship, and with a double major in elementary education and music therapy, and a science minor that is only a few credits shy from a third major.  
  
She’ll count that as a successful college career.)

*

Life after the Bellas – life after _Barden_ , the Bellas are forever even if she hasn’t seen most of her sisters in months – is… certainly different. Difficult. Turns out, there are businesses that assume three extra years of college must make you a dud. Slow learner maybe. Unmotivated. So it takes Chloe some time to find a job, and even longer to find one she likes. She starts as a receptionist in a little doctor’s office, answering phone calls and checking people in for their appointments. Which isn’t all bad, but she’s a social person, loves getting to know each and every person who crosses her path, and the doctor of the office has to remind her more than once that the flow for check-in needs to be swift, speedy, so that he can see as many patients as possible each day. He also calls her Red, in a less-than-appropriate way, his eyes often dipping well below her eyes as he smirks at her.  
  
It doesn’t last for more than about four months, and then she’s on the hunt for a new job.  
  
She has Beca with her still, at least. And Fat Amy. She had no plans of _where_ she wanted to be after college - okay, so even after seven years, she still had no actual plans like, _at all_ \- so when Beca offhandedly joked about just moving to New York with her when her boss at Residual Heat helped her land a job in the big city, Chloe certainly wasn’t about to say no. Living with her best friend makes everything, even the cruel uncertainty of the future, better, and having Amy with them elevates it all even more. It’s hard not to smile when she’s with the two of them.  
  
Even if they are all just a hair miserable, and getting worse with each passing month. The search for new meaning to her life continues, and within a year and a half she’s had four jobs, none of which she has stayed at for more than a handful of months. It’s discouraging to say the least, and more than once she finds herself dreaming of the Bella house, remembering how easy it was to just live there with her sisters. It’s in those moments she begins to wonder why she ever thought passing Russian Lit was going to be a good thing, but then Beca or Amy will say or do something to make her smile and she’ll remind herself that even if she was still at Barden, they wouldn’t be. Her sisters are her support system, so if some of them are here then this is where she should be too.  
  
And they do support each other, through the good and the bad. Beca and Amy sympathize with her when she gets “asked to leave” from her third job (apparently even librarians aren’t allowed to sing loudly while stacking the shelves, but _come on_ , she was listening to one of Beca’s hard rock mixes, how do you not sing loudly when presented with that?), and she supports them through their own job hardships. Beca’s still low person on the totem pole at her new office, and Amy is… well, she’s just Amy, and even the hard streets of New York City are never going to change her. They support each other through the ups and downs, and Chloe’s never been so thankful to have them.  
  
(She’s also thankful she can be there _for_ them, especially during those really low times of heartbreak. Amy and Bumper don’t last long once she’s out of college, making it only about six months before they finally call it off, the distance between them just too much and Amy unable to take being “tied down when so much of the world just wants a piece of this.” Beca and Jesse last longer, though not by much; they break up not even a month before their five year anniversary, and Chloe’s practically in tears for her best friend before Beca can even get the sentence out. For each breakup she buys bottles and bottles of wine, along with multiple gallons of ice cream, and convinces them that what they need is a weekend inside, with no plans but to wallow together. She even manages the rest of the Bellas when they try to call to check in, knowing exactly when and how long Amy and Beca can each take talking to them. Maybe it’s a little overbearing, but the flash of the tired smile Beca gives her at the end of the weekend is enough to tell her it’s exactly what she needed, and Chloe just returns it with a reassuring one of her own.)  
  
Almost two years after graduation, Chloe starts her fifth job where she runs the front desk at a veterinary clinic, and this one sticks. It doesn’t just stick, but develops too once the doctor sees how much she loves the animals that come through the doors every day and how well she’s able to interact with their humans. Soon she’s being asked to help with more than just office work, and she begins putting that almost-science major she accidentally acquired to good use. Sure, she doesn’t have the necessary qualifications to do everything her boss can, but she’s a fast learner - no matter what seven years of college might suggest - and is always more than happy to help out in any way she can. It isn’t the job she ever exactly dreamed of, and it _definitely_ doesn’t pay as well as exotic dancing - she was very seriously beginning to weigh that possibility before she found this job - but she likes it well enough and can afford her share of the rent, so it’s something.  
  
Still, she misses college. She misses her sisters, and she misses performing. She misses the music that used to be weaved within every crevice of her day. She lives with Beca and Amy, so it isn’t like the music is nonexistent, but now it feels like she has to go searching for it sometimes, where it used to be readily available in every corner of her life.  
  
So when Emily reaches out in her own senior year asking if the Bellas want to sing again, Chloe can’t put on the old uniform fast enough. Beca rolls her eyes at her when she sees it, but Chloe can see her own quiet desperation playing at the corners of her mouth, and knows she’s just as excited about this opportunity as the redhead. The three of them travel together and then they’re surrounded by their sisters again and it feels like the first time in months that Chloe’s been able to take a solid breath.  
  
Until Emily fixes her mistake and carefully tells them that she didn’t ask them to come perform with the new Bellas, but just to watch their performance. There’s an awkward pause where Chloe’s stomach drops and all of a sudden the breath is pulled from her lungs again, but then she’s nodding along with the rest of the “old” Bellas, trying to pretend that this change in plans is totally fine, maybe even better. She and Beca and the rest of them step back into the crowd and watch Emily shuffle back to her Bellas, and Chloe tries really hard not to have her arms crossed during their performance.  
  
(Which is good, sure, but nothing compared to what _their_ Bellas could do. The arrangement is nice, and Chloe can tell Emily worked hard on it, but it isn’t one of Beca’s mashups, and Chloe could have easily put together tighter choreography. Not that she would ever tell Emily that. While the thoughts are all true, she knows it’s just the envy she can feel flooding through her as she watches them that even makes her think them. So not cool, but not really anything she’s able to control in this moment.)  
  
The performance ends and the Bellas - _their_ Bellas, Chloe doesn’t really pay attention to what happens to the new ones - all wind up at a bar, and it’s once the alcohol hits her system that Chloe finally lets her misery out, loudly and with a tear or two. All she wants is to sing with her sisters again, and it becomes more than obvious that they all want it too.  
  
So when Aubrey pipes up, mentions maybe talking to her military father about singing on the USO tour, Chloe could honestly kiss her. She’s pretty sure the only thing that saves the blonde is Stacie’s announcement and the appearance of her protruding belly - Chloe chooses not to scold her for waiting _eight months_ to tell them she’s pregnant - and the subsequent immediate decision that Emily will just have to take her place while she brings new life into the world. A baby Bella is growing, and the Bellas themselves are back together, and ready to perform again.  
  
For the first time in three years, Chloe feels her pulse start rushing, as though the music has already begun flowing through her again. 

*

The USO tour is unlike anything Chloe has ever experienced before. She’s singing again with her sisters, so it’s automatically wonderful, but even she can admit that the Bellas are a little out of their element. When it comes to a cappella she knows they can give any other team a run for their money - they proved as much at Worlds, and she still smirks just a little to herself whenever she thinks of the looks on DSM’s faces when they were announced as the winners - but the bands they’re competing against now are just that. _Bands_. Instruments, which the Bellas don’t use, so they’re kind of at a disadvantage, and it feels like it for a while. They’ve been through worse of course - luckily no one’s vagina has popped out on stage yet or their hair caught on fire - but still, it’s as clear to Chloe as it is to any of them that they’re feeling a little beaten down by the time they’re sitting on the side of the street with their luggage around them after inadvertently setting DJ Khaled’s suite on fire.  
  
(Nobody’s hair caught on fire though, so it’s _still not terrible_ , just pretty bad.)  
  
And just when Chloe thinks they might not ever be able to pull themselves back out of this hole they’ve found themselves in, Stacie calls and changes _everything_. She shows them the newest little Bella - and Chloe commends Stacie on her name choice, between her squeals of absolute and utter delight - and all at once it feels like this weight they’ve all been carrying with them has lifted and they can just be themselves again. It’s no longer about the competition - yes it is, they just don’t let it be _entirely_ about the competition anymore - it’s about singing together again, performing in the way that only they can perform, and Chloe feels the stirring in her chest as they all just come back to life around her. The next time they hit the stage they’re all singing from the top of their lungs and performing their hearts out, and Chloe could swear her heart is pumping electricity through her veins from the way her body just _hums_ at it all.  
  
Of course, their performances aren’t the only things that suddenly have a hold of her attention.  
  
Chloe hasn’t been in any kind of serious relationship since she and Tom broke up during her first super senior year. (Long distance relationships are clearly the death of romance, if her experience, Amy’s, or Beca’s are anything to go by.) She hasn’t been truly drawn to anyone since then either. She’s gone on a few dates over the years, and she is certainly far from declaring a life of celibacy, but for one reason or another long-term romance just hasn’t been up there in her priorities. Maybe she’s just been busy, or maybe she just hasn’t met anyone who has made her heart stop in all that time, but when she sees Chicago it stops and then is suddenly beating furiously.  
  
Tom was almost six years ago; she decides that’s why she can’t seem to do anything but trip over her own words around the new hottie. Seriously, she’s beginning to sound like Beca did around the German Amazon - she likes to believe she’s _a little bit_ more put-together than Beca was but… well, not by much - which is really a shame because she’s been fluent in flirt since she was twelve. Chicago seems to like it though, if the glint in his eyes and that cute little quirk of his lips is anything to go by, and while Chloe’s flirting skills may be a little rusty for some reason, she at least feels secure in picking up on those details. Reading people is a skill she’s kept sharp - she’s been living with Beca for six years, she’s had no choice - so even as she’s stumbling a little over her own words, she can see that he’s enjoying it, and probably just as attracted to her as she is to him.  
  
She didn’t join the USO tour to pick up a soldier, but who knows, maybe she’ll have one by the time she’s heading home?  
  
Between Chicago and the tour, things finally seem to be picking up for Chloe and the rest of the Bellas, and each time they’re standing on that stage to the sounds of cheers around them, she’s certain they’re going to win this thing.  
  
She’s so sure of it in fact, that she and the rest of the Bellas - minus Beca and Amy - get into the van. They get into the van, and they’re all singing and ready to celebrate the win they can feel at their fingertips, but the excited buzz quickly drops when the doors and windows won’t open. The next thing Chloe knows they’re on a yacht, staring at some man who claims to be Amy’s father and the bodyguards - _big_ bodyguards - standing just behind him, and she can’t quite believe they’ve somehow been kidnapped. She keeps blinking, fully expecting to open her eyes and find herself waking up from one of the weirder dreams she’s ever had, but it’s real, and no amount of blinking changes that.  
  
It had never even dawned on Chloe she might need to somehow prepare for this kind of thing - she doesn’t even carry around her Barden rape whistle anymore - so she has absolutely no idea what to do, and from the way the others all squirm around her, neither do they. Eyes keep flicking to her, as though the Bellas are once again looking to their captain for an idea on how to get out of this, but Chloe’s as lost as the rest of them. Her single solace - and greatest selfish regret - is that at least Beca isn’t with them. All she wants in this moment is to be able to cling to her best friend’s hand, but the fact that Beca is safe is far more important.  
  
Until Beca appears out of thin air behind them. Yes she’s small, that’s obviously true, but Chloe knows for a fact she wasn’t there just a moment ago, and her heart somehow starts racing even faster the instant she sees her. And then Beca’s telling them they need to sing and Chloe can honestly say it’s the first time in her life when singing really doesn’t seem to be the solution, but Beca practically demands it, so she follows the rest of them up and into formation. They barely need to say anything and they’re falling into the _Toxic_ routine they put together Chloe’s third senior year, Aubrey and Emily naturally fitting into it even though neither of them were around that year. It’s a little shaky, they miss miniscule beats that Chloe - and Aubrey - would harp on if their lives weren’t at stake, but considering the situation, Chloe thinks they actually do quite well.  
  
The routine ends with Fat Amy falling through the glass ceiling above them with a fire extinguisher, and then the Bellas are running for their lives and jumping into the ocean. Which is absolutely not how Chloe imagined their day would end when she woke up this morning but… c’est la vie, right?  
  
They’re all wrapped up in blankets, and Chicago has just told her that they’ve arrested Amy’s dad when the Bellas learn Beca’s news. They didn’t win the competition, but _Beca_ did. _Beca_ is going to open for DJ Khaled, and the label wants to sign her as a solo act and Chloe could honestly _cry_.  
  
Because finally, _finally, the world is seeing Beca_.  
  
Beca, who says she doesn’t want it without them, and that makes Chloe want to cry even more.  
  
Because no one other than the Bellas would know this is the same person who wanted nothing to do with anyone seven years ago. No one would know that she scoffed at the Bellas originally, but now Beca loves them all so much that she can’t accept that anyone could possibly see them apart from each other, and in that second Chloe has never wanted to hug a person more. The others try to persuade Beca that she needs to do this, that she can’t _not_ do it, and it’s Chloe - Chloe who’s always clung to the past, Chloe who’s always clung to her sisters - who finally stands up and says that it’s time for them all to move on. She can feel Beca’s eyes on her as she’s speaking, so she turns to meet them, silently praying that her best friend can read just how overwhelmingly proud of her she is. She can, Chloe’s sure of it, and what’s more she thinks she sees the same pride shining at her from the deep blue eyes she’s filled her life with for more than half a decade.  
  
And then Chloe’s initiating the group hug and they’re all surrounding Beca, because if the brunette thought she was getting out of this moment without it, well then she obviously hit her head at some point while fleeing their recent hostage situation. 

*

Chloe’s in the front row, and her cheeks ache from how wide her smile is even as she fights to hold back her tears. Because she’s surrounded by her sisters, and they’re all watching Beca.  
  
Beca, who’s shining.  
  
Beca, whose talent has finally been seen, when Chloe first saw it seven years ago in the Barden showers.  
  
Beca, who - even though this is her moment, her time to steal the spotlight - is suddenly pulling them all on stage with her, and it’s difficult for Chloe to sing with her heart in her throat but she’s doing it anyway. She’s singing with her sisters and once again Beca has chosen a song that just _fits_ for each and every one of them, and every single one of them simply slides into place because they’ve been doing this for so long, they all know their cues without needing to rehearse. Especially in this moment, the music wraps around them, and it is the warmest, safest blanket Chloe’s ever been cocooned in.  
  
As Beca ends the song and the rest of the Bellas let her, the tears stream down Chloe’s face, catching in the corners of her smile.  
  
It feels like both the end of something and the beginning of something, and she’s never been more proud in her life.

*

It isn’t the end, of course.  
  
Chloe learns that quickly; nothing has really ended, because an ending means that something is finite, and the Bellas are forever. Things _change_ , sure, but they don’t _end_.  
  
Well, except for her and Chicago. Not that there was a whole lot there that started, but whatever it was does come to something of a screeching halt when the tour is over and Chloe heads back to the city. Chicago’s got his job in the army that he can’t exactly just leave, and she’s starting vet school almost immediately, so life kind of just naturally pulls them apart before they’re able to get very far in discovering what they could have been. They try the phone calls and Skype dates thing for a couple of weeks but Chloe’s heart just isn’t quite into it, and she suspects his isn’t either. They had potential, she knows that, and in other circumstances she’s pretty sure they could have fallen deeply in love, maybe even have made a life together, but a few weeks on a tour that Chloe still sometimes has a hard time believing actually happened just isn’t enough to forge that ever-lasting connection. So they part ways amicably, and Chloe dives into the next chapter of her life.  
  
Which is about ten times quieter than the last few chapters have been.  
  
Fat Amy is a multi-millionaire now (Chloe still isn’t entirely sure she understands how that all worked out, but honestly, at this point she’s a little afraid to ask - after what happened with her father, she’s begun to wonder just how many of Fat Amy’s stories are _true_ ) so she moves out of their miniscule apartment and into something a bit… grander. She invites Chloe to move with her, but the redhead declines, deciding it’s time she figured out how to live alone, at least for a little while. They visit each other almost weekly, so she at least still has one sister consistently in her life, and it’s enough to help keep her grounded.  
  
And staying grounded is really hard to do without Beca around.  
  
After the USO tour, DJ Khaled invites Beca to join him on his next tour to work with her and have her be one of his opening acts, so of course Beca goes. She couldn’t say no to that and Chloe certainly wasn’t about to let her, so they’re barely back in New York for a week before the brunette is leaving again. Chloe pulls her into possibly the tightest hug she’s ever given before Beca goes, and she’s happy when Beca clings right back to her, but then they’re letting go and truly separating for the first time in seven years.  
  
It’s lonely. That’s what Chloe realizes nearly the moment her best friend walks out the door, but this is practically everything Beca has ever wanted, or at least another vein of her dreams if not the exact dream itself, so Chloe can and will do nothing but support her.  
  
She keeps busy with her classes. Which are _hard_ without Stacie around to help her study and give her tips on how to memorize every single detail of the mammalian nervous system. Stacie’s only a two hour drive away, so Chloe does visit often enough, but when she does it’s to see baby Bella and her sister, not spend hours elbow-deep in note cards and text books. It also doesn’t help that she starts out further behind than many of her classmates since this isn’t exactly what she was planning for during her seven-year undergrad career, but Chloe Beale is nothing if not tenacious, so she catches up. She probably couldn’t count the number of nights she chooses studying over sleep, and if she had to get blood drawn it would probably just come out as coffee at this point, but dammit she catches up.  
  
Even with all her classes and studying and work and more classes, she and Beca communicate every single day. It isn’t something they exactly planned, but they went from seeing each other multiple times a day for seven years to clinging to Snapchat and other social media to stay connected, so it kind of just naturally happens. No matter how deep into studying Chloe is, if her phone starts playing _When I’m Gone_ it’s in her hand the next second and she’s laughing at Beca’s text or answering her phone call. More often than not those little moments are the highlight of her day, and it’s kind of become the thing she lives for. She drinks in any news Beca wants to give her, from stories about the tour, to travel nightmares Chloe can certainly sympathize with, to the news that Beca and Theo never really become the thing they seemed to be dancing around while on the USO tour. It would be weird, Beca tells her during that particular phone call, now that she’s basically his boss. Plus she’s just starting to get a foot in the door with this whole music industry thing, and she doesn’t want anyone ever saying she only made it because he wanted to bang her.  
  
When Chloe hears that her brow shoots up, telling Beca that if anyone ever actually thought that they’d clearly need to get their ears checked because _hello_ , has she ever even heard herself sing? She’s obvs the aca-bomb, and then Chloe’s grinning to herself as she listens to Beca laugh through the phone, easily imagining the way the brunette is no doubt rolling her eyes, even as she tries to fight back a smile. As much as Beca would like to think otherwise, she’s pretty predictable to Chloe by now, and the redhead absolutely loves it. Beca changes the subject then - predictably - and asks Chloe how her classes are going, so the older woman launches into her own story about her biochemistry class. The phone call lasts another thirty-six minutes before they finally have to hang up, and it’s easily the best fifty-three minutes of her day.  
  
(After two weeks straight of always being the one to initiate their conversations, Chloe realizes she might be annoying Beca and that she might need to back off just a little. She knows how Beca is, knows that she needs space far more quickly than Chloe herself ever does, and even though there are hundreds of miles between them, keeping her glued to her phone might not be providing her with enough of it. Besides, Beca’s busy building on her dreams right now and that’s what she needs to be focused on, not her best friend that apparently can’t go a day without communicating with her. So she decides a minute after making that realization to give Beca her space, and to leave her alone for a little while. A couple of days without talking to her best friend shouldn’t be too hard, right?  
  
**Dude, you would not BELIEVE who Im about to meet**  
  
Chloe can’t exactly help the grin that spreads across her face the next day when _When I’m Gone_ starts playing out of nowhere. Apparently the distance between them is enough space for Beca, so she immediately snatches up her phone to reply to the text, tossing her idea of leaving the brunette alone right out the window.)  
  
It takes three months, one week, and six days before Beca returns to the city. Almost 2,520 hours. Give or take a little.  
  
The time absolutely crawls by, but finally it’s passed and Chloe tries desperately hard not to squeal or cry when she finally sees Beca again. The brunette has invited her to a small party the label is throwing to celebrate the end of another successful tour and Chloe’s just gotten out of class and barely had time to even change into anything half-way appropriate before making her way there, so the first time they’re seeing each other again is when they’re surrounded by people. Chloe tries desperately to rein herself in because she knows Beca isn’t the biggest fan of public affection at the best of times, and here she is surrounded by co-workers and people she’s trying to impress, but then it’s _Beca_ who’s running to _her_ and clinging to _her_ like Chloe might disappear again if she lets go, and it doesn’t even take half a second for the redhead to return the hug with equal enthusiasm. A couple of people are staring at them, some giving them the side-eye and others smirking, but neither of them spare anyone else a second glance. They’re together again, and Chloe sure as hell isn’t going to be the first one to let go.  
  
The hug ends eventually but then Chloe’s just looping her arm around Beca’s, and Beca’s smiling - full on smiling, not even giving Chloe her usual smirk - and begins to lead her around the room, making introductions where necessary but otherwise just letting Chloe cling to her without complaint. They make it through the dinner the label has paid for - which is really just a bunch of different fancy appetizers they fill their plates with at least twice - and stay long enough for Theo to introduce Beca to some of the big names based in New York she hadn’t met yet on tour, but it isn’t long before the brunette is flashing Chloe that half grin and leading her out of the room. Their arms disentangle but then Beca’s taking her hand instead, and she winks when she swipes one of the expensive bottles of champagne from a table as they pass it before they’re running out to the sidewalk and completely ditching the party. Chloe doesn’t even consider arguing about leaving, even if there are more big-names in the room than she’s ever met before in her life.  
  
They head back to Chloe’s apartment - their apartment? - and the second the door closes behind them Chloe’s got her arms wrapped back around Beca, her face pressed into her neck and grinning against her skin like an idiot. She nearly knocks the smaller woman over with the force of her hug, but she hears Beca let out a little laugh and then she’s hooking one arm around Chloe, returning the hug even as she continues to hold the champagne bottle that’s stuck between them. Chloe’s giggling as she pulls back a little, wiping a few stray tears away because god, she really just missed Beca okay? There may or may not be a couple of tears in the corners of Beca’s eyes too that tell her this relief she’s feeling is mutual, but she doesn’t point them out and falls back on the only real piece of lounging furniture in the apartment - her bed, it’s really the only thing that fits well with the desk she pushed up against the other side of the room when Amy moved out - yanking Beca down with her.  
  
Chloe demands Beca tell her absolutely everything about the tour, despite the fact that they really did communicate every single day during it, and Beca grins and pops the champagne bottle open before taking a swig. She passes it over and quirks an eyebrow, telling the redhead that she’ll tell her stories as long as Chloe plans to share her stories too. The older woman nudges her shoulder in mock indignation, even going so far as to lift a hand dramatically to her chest while she accepts the bottle with her other one, because does Beca not even _know_ who she’s talking to anymore? _Of course_ she’s happy to talk about herself and all the fascinating things she’s been reading about in her text books - okay, it actually is a little fascinating, but she makes sure the sarcasm drips from her tongue all the same as she says it - how could she ever think she _wouldn’t_ be?  
  
Beca laughs, and the façade falls away as Chloe’s smile softens, because she’d almost forgotten how beautiful that laugh is, and how it always makes something in her chest flutter whenever she hears it. The younger woman launches into a story describing just exactly _how awkward_ she was around DJ Khaled for the first few weeks of the tour, and Chloe leans back against the wall, her eyes never so much as glancing away from her best friend’s face.  
  
Her best friend is back again, and nothing, not a single ICCA win or the World’s win, has ever made her feel quite so right before in her life. 

*

It happens roughly three hours later. Chloe doesn’t have it pinned down to the minute like she had with Beca’s return because it isn’t something she was actively waiting for, but she knows they’ve been on the bed for roughly three hours. The champagne is gone, the empty bottle now sitting on the floor beside them, and there’s a happy buzzing in Chloe’s veins she’s not sure she can attribute entirely to the bubbly in her system. It’s certainly part of it, probably the part that has left her mind feeling just a tad slower than normal, but she’s sure the vast majority of the buzzing was produced thanks to the woman still sitting pressed against her side. She and Beca are leaning heavily against each other now, Chloe’s laptop open on the bed in front of them and music spilling from its speakers, and it feels so much like innumerable times before. It’s almost as though they’ve been transported back to Barden and the Bella house, as though they’re in Chloe’s old attic bedroom or the room Beca shared with Fat Amy. The music fills Chloe to the brim, and she’s sure the warmth in her chest is that same music desperately trying to escape from her, because how can anything so beautiful and powerful remain trapped?  
  
Beca’s head falls to her shoulder, and Chloe’s eyes close as she listens to the brunette hum along with the music. Neither of them are singing - something that in and of itself is strange - but the moment is perfect without it. They’re letting the music surround and wash over them, and sometimes that’s even better than letting it belt out of their chests. Chloe’s calm and content, more so than she thinks she’s been in months, maybe even years, and she knows it’s all due to the woman beside her.  
  
And then Beca lifts her head and shifts closer to her, and Chloe’s eyes open again. She turns, the corners of her mouth already quirking up into a grin, but when she meets dark blue eyes that grin freezes. Beca’s smiling that small, almost hidden smile of hers and it’s reflected in her eyes, but for the first time it hits Chloe differently. It’s more… significant now than it ever has been before. Not more beautiful or special, because everything about Beca has _always_ been beautiful and special to her, but it tugs at Chloe’s chest in a new way. She’s noticing how close they are - the entire right side of her body pressed up against the entire left side of Beca’s - and how Beca’s breath brushes gently across her cheek with every contraction of her chest. Their fingers are still entangled, and Chloe’s trying to remember if they’ve let go even once in the entire time they’ve been on the bed. They must have, because they’ve moved around, and each of them have needed to use the bathroom once since they emptied the bottle, but their hands clearly have found each other each time they’ve settled back down. To Chloe it feels like the most natural thing in the world to have Beca’s fingers wrapped around her own, and for some reason that thought makes her heartbeat suddenly quicken.  
  
It quickens further when her eyes drop to Beca’s lips. Lips that are right there, and that have been right there before, but for the first time she’s really thinking about how close they are. How soft they look. How they might feel pressed against her own lips. It’s a sudden thought, and one she briefly considers blaming on the champagne, but she knows that wouldn’t be right. The alcohol may be lowering her inhibitions a little but she knows it isn’t responsible for the way she’s staring or the way her stomach drops when she notices that Beca’s staring at her lips too. There’s music playing, filling up the room, but for once it’s nothing but static in the background as the blood pounds in Chloe’s ears. She leans a little closer to Beca without even realizing she’s doing it, and then it happens.  
  
Beca closes the gap, and they’re kissing.  
  
They’re kissing, and Chloe’s breath gets caught in her chest. She can’t quite believe this is happening, that she’s kissing her best friend, or that Beca’s kissing her back. It’s a hesitant kiss, one that makes it clear that neither participant was expecting this but it deepens, and then Chloe’s eyes close as she finally releases Beca’s hand solely so that she can sink it into the other woman’s hair. She feels the sudden intake of breath against her mouth and then Beca’s reaching up as well, her hand snaking around the back of Chloe’s neck and tugging her closer. Their mouths move against each other, slow but more sure by the second, and Chloe’s brain simply ceases to function.  
  
Turns out, holding Beca’s hand _isn’t_ the most natural thing in the world, if the way they so easily mold together is anything to go by.  
  
Eventually they pull back, just enough to rest their foreheads against each other, both sets of eyes still closed as minds try to process what just happened.  
  
“Oh,” Chloe lets out in a small voice, her surprise audible even to her and she swears she can hear Beca’s smirk. Her eyes open, and sure enough, just the corners of Beca’s lips are beginning to tug up.  
  
Blue eyes darker than her own then open as well, and Chloe watches as an eyebrow ticks up.  
  
“Huh,” Beca says. “That was…”  
  
“Weird?” Chloe supplies, her voice oddly husky. One corner of her mouth pulls up too, especially when Beca’s brow furrows.  
  
“Actually… no?”  
  
Chloe lets out a small chuckle, and now it’s her turn to let an eyebrow tick up. “You don’t exactly sound sure there, Becs.”  
  
“No it’s just…” The younger woman trails off, and Chloe knows she’s searching for the right words, can tell in the way her eyes shift for a few seconds, as though she’s actively looking for them. “It’s weird because it… didn’t feel weird. You know?” She lifts the shoulder not pressed against the redhead into a shrug, and Chloe doesn’t try to hold back the smile she can feel growing.  
  
“Yeah, I know. It feels good. Right.” She grabs Beca’s hand again, giving it a little squeeze, and then looks up at her again from beneath her eyelashes. “This kinda feels right. Right?”  
  
She doesn’t mean for her voice to get quieter, or for some kind of sudden insecurity to color the edges of her words. But it does feel right to her, even though it isn’t something she really saw coming, and now she’s afraid of what might happen if it doesn’t feel as right to Beca. Beca’s free hand comes up though, and there’s a finger tilting her chin up the next moment, and then two sets of blue eyes are meeting in a direct stare.  
  
“Yeah. Yeah it does. I mean, I don’t exactly know… what this… how this… what we’re supposed to do now, but… yeah.”  
  
It’s a little babbly, but that just makes Chloe’s smile spread that much faster. She knows what it means when Beca gets tongue-tied, and that’s enough to have her heart beating wildly in her chest.  
  
“I mean, we could always kiss again,” she suggests, a teasing lilt to her voice that she’s sure Beca recognizes as well. “See if it feels just as right the second time.”  
  
Once again Beca’s eyes drop to her lips, and she’s leaning forward even as she attempts to adopt some semblance of nonchalance.  
  
“Uh yeah, sure, I mean, I think that makes sense. Doesn’t hurt to test it out.” They’re both grinning a little, and then those grins melt away as their lips press together for a second time.  
  
And it feels just as right as it did the first time.  
  
Same goes for the third, and fourth, and fifth times, and then Chloe stops counting because her head is filling up with Beca and that’s all she really cares to focus on at the moment. 

*

It’s strange, how simple the shift is. They’ve been Beca-and-Chloe for years, but now they’re _Beca-and-Chloe_. The redhead thinks it’s like they’ve become one of Beca’s mashups: when they were Beca-and-Chloe they were one song, beautiful and wonderful in itself, but then they added capital R “Relationship” to it and now the beats are that much stronger, the harmonies sweeter and the chords sharper. And like the rest of Beca’s mashups, Chloe gets absolutely lost in it as it fills her chest and leaves her fingers and toes tingling.  
  
The thing is, Chloe doesn’t know when loving Beca morphed into being _in_ love with her. The love itself has been there practically since the moment they met, but she can’t identify exactly when the notes changed. It doesn’t matter, not really, but Chloe likes to believe she’s always been in tune with herself, so the fact that she missed something this big for so long is kind of a blow to that. The only thing she’s certain of is that it wasn’t that night on her bed, cuddled against each other for the first time in months. No, it was before that. Long before, if she had to guess, but she can’t put her finger on exactly when.  
  
She isn’t quite cliché enough to say it was their first meeting at the activities fair, or even their second meeting in the shower. Yes, both moments were significant, and without them none of this would have happened, but they weren’t _the_ moment. She’s not even sure if there really is a specific “when,” or if it’s something that culminated over countless moments, but it nags at her for a few days. How long has this been there? How much time did she waste not kissing Beca when she could?  
  
She questions as much one night outloud and loves the way it pulls up one corner of Beca’s mouth. The brunette isn’t sure either, but then she’s leaning over and kissing Chloe because at least now they know, and it’s enough for Chloe to stop wondering. None of their time as Beca-and-Chloe was “wasted” she decides, just utilized differently. At the root of it all, they’ll always just be _them_ , no matter what label they try to tag onto it.  
  
At least it begins to explain exactly why she was never really interested in finding someone after she and Tom broke up, or why she was so quick to throw in the towel with Chicago when they were no longer seeing each other every day. She thinks these recent three months apart was the only successful long distance relationship she’ll ever be able to do, and that’s solely because it was Beca. Beca, who she’ll bear the long distance for again the next time her music pulls her away, and the next time, and the time after that, and the time after that, because Chloe would wait forever for Beca.  
  
And okay, maybe she is a little cliché after all. Something that only becomes more obvious when they announce their new relationship to the rest of the Bellas. Chloe arranges a group Skype call, one that Beca grumbles about because ugh, “They’re just gonna be obnoxious.”  
  
(She’s kind of right, but they still have to do it.)  
  
“Well damn, ‘bout time. I had money on this happenin’ back in _college_.” - Cynthia Rose, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.  
  
“Oh my God! Just, just, oh my God! I-I can’t believe! It, you, you guys, you’re! Oh my God!” - Emily, with tears already running down her face.  
  
“In my country, the groom’s family has to ask the bride’s family for permission to marry her.” - Flo stares at Beca while she speaks, an eyebrow raised, and Beca’s eyes get wider than Chloe thinks she’s ever seen them before.  
  
(“Dude, no, we’re not like, engaged or anything, just like… together, or something.”  
  
Flo makes a little noise, eyeing Beca over, and Chloe tries to hide her grin behind her palm, but Beca glares at her anyway.)  
  
“CONGRATULATIONS!” - Ashley and Jessica, at the same time, also with tears in their eyes.  
  
“Lesbe honest here, is anyone surprised? You two are as obvious as a dingo tap-dancing on a croc. Figured the second I moved out you wouldn’t be able to fight the raw sapphic urge to jump each other anymore.” - Fat Amy, arms crossed and nodding, and Chloe and Beca glance at each other from the corners of their eyes, really not sure what to say to that.  
  
“Oh great! So Satan’s finally left your bodies too! Awesome!” - Lilly/Esther, and this time Flo isn’t the only one who crosses herself. Just to be safe.  
  
“I feel like I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life. Mom and Dad, finally admitting their feelings. I’m so proud!” - Stacie, hands clasped and eyelashes fluttering, and Beca rolls her eyes so hard that Chloe’s actually worried it might hurt a little.  
  
“Hm. Well I can’t exactly say I’m surprised. Congratulations to you both. And Beca, if you hurt her, just remember there is nowhere that you’ll be able to hide. Like my dad always says, to protect the things you love you have to be willing to tear apart a few limbs. And I am.” - Aubrey, with an eyebrow quirked, staring at Beca and not blinking. Beside her Beca gulps, and Chloe reaches over, patting her arm reassuringly.  
  
They tell their families too, of course, and neither family seems to be too surprised by the news either. They’ve both been so entangled in each other’s lives for so long that apparently this is just the natural progression that everyone but them was at least half expecting. It’s strange, realizing they were the last two to actually figure this out, but now that they have Chloe can just shrug and take Beca’s hand in her own.  
  
The song isn’t new, but the chords behind it are, and they reverberate in Chloe’s chest. Or maybe that’s her heart, just finally loving Beca in the way it’s been trying to for seven years.  
  
Either way she’s happy, and that’s kind of all that’s ever really mattered. 

***

“Dude. Why are you awake at three-thirty in the morning?”  
  
Chloe is so lost in recounting the past that she physically jumps, even shaking her head a little as though it’s the only way to push the memories back. It takes half a second for her to pull herself back into the present, and when she does it’s to the soft glow of the light in their office. Bella’s photo album is still in her lap, open to a few pictures from Beca’s junior year. In one Stacie, Cynthia Rose, and Lilly are in the kitchen, trying to make a cake for Ashley’s birthday. In another Jessica has taken a selfie, and the rest of the Bellas are visible over her shoulder playing a game of Uno, while a third shows Fat Amy, Beca, and Stacie at a Trebles party, the three clearly out-dancing the two Trebles also in the picture.  
  
She only made it about halfway through the book before getting lost down memory lane and forgetting about it, but now she gives the images a small smile, brushing her thumb over one of the pages before looking up.  
  
Beca is leaning in the doorway, one hip propped against the frame, an eyebrow quirked as she gives the redhead a look. She’s still wearing the sweatpants and oversized t-shirt - really oversized on her, since it’s actually Chloe’s and even a size too big for her - she fell asleep in, and she’s got Dixie curled up in one arm, absent-mindedly petting her with the other. Her head is cocked to the side just a hair, but there’s this little pull at her lips that makes Chloe think maybe she’s been standing there for more than just a couple of seconds. The whole image is enough to have her returning the smile with a big one of her own as she gives the younger woman a shrug.  
  
“Couldn’t sleep,” she answers, glancing back down to the book. “Thought I’d come in here rather than take the chance of waking you up with my tossing and turning.” She looks back up through her eyelashes, smile shifting seamlessly into a smirk. “I know how dangerous it is to wake you up before you’re ready.”  
  
Beca pushes herself off of the doorframe and raises her eyebrows as she steps further into the room. “Maybe try teaching this beast of yours that. The thing walked on my head and wouldn’t leave me alone until I was conscious enough to start petting her.”  
  
Dixie doesn’t look the least bit upset about it, her tail twitching lightly against Beca’s arm. Chloe grins at her before shifting the book to the futon beside her, making space so that the younger woman can deposit the cat into her lap.  
  
“Dix, you know we’re not supposed to wake Mama up like that,” she croons, scratching the cat under her white chin. “She gets so grumpy when she isn’t able to get her beauty rest.”  
  
Beca lets out an indignant puff of air as she drops down onto the futon beside her, moving the book out of the way first. Dixie just closes her eyes and leans into the scratches, clearly not concerned.  
  
“I don’t get grumpy,” Beca mumbles, settling the book on her lap and idly flipping through it. Chloe chuckles.  
  
“Oh yeah?” she asks, and then reaches out with her free hand, poking lightly at the crease between the brunette’s eyebrows. “Then what’s with the grumpy look?”  
  
Beca tries to flash her a glare as though she’s intimidating or something, but Chloe just starts lightly soothing her thumb over the crease and the brunette almost instantly melts into it, letting out a low hum that has Chloe grinning again.  
  
“Hmm. Not grumpy. Just tired.” Beca’s eyes close and her head naturally tilts toward the redhead, and the whole look makes Chloe’s heart melt a little.  
  
She seriously has the most adorable girlfriend in the world, even if Beca does argue every time she says as much. Apparently being adorable affects the badass reputation Beca strives for. Chloe chooses not to tell her that after eight years together, she knows that the brunette is far more adorable than she is a badass. No reason to break her heart even with that stone cold fact though.  
  
“Okay sleepyhead, then why not go back to bed?” she suggests lightly, voice just on the edge of teasing. Beca lets out another little hum and then leans over when Chloe stops rubbing at her forehead, letting her head rest against the other woman’s shoulder instead.  
  
“I’m good. This is pretty comfy.”  
  
A flood of warmth rushes through Chloe’s chest at the words and the way Beca presses against her. She shifts a little, careful not to dislodge either Beca or the cat, and then wraps the blanket she still has around her over Beca’s shoulders too. There’s another hum, this time of appreciation, and then Beca turns her attention to the book now in her lap. She thumbs through the pages gently, and Chloe’s eyes shift back and forth between the book and its pictures and Beca’s face.  
  
“This came out really good, Chlo. Stacie’s gonna lose her shit when she sees it. And the rest of them. Though it might take Bella a few years to appreciate it.”  
  
Dixie nudges Chloe’s arm, clearly finding it unacceptable that she’s no longer being petted, so Chloe returns at least a percentage of her attention to the cat without taking her eyes off of Beca.  
  
“I figured we can all just tell her the stories behind the pictures, until she’s old enough to flip through the book herself. That’s way better anyway.”  
  
Beca nods beside her, her focus still fully on the book. She flips through a couple more pages and then stops at one particular picture, head lifting from Chloe’s shoulder when she sees it.  
  
“Seriously, you included this one? Chloe, this book is for our _niece_!”  
  
Chloe bites back a laugh, gaze dropping to the picture in question. In it they’re at yet another Treble party, except this time there are about a dozen people in the pool, and Beca is one of them. She’s kind of the star of the picture, up on Jesse’s shoulders with both arms straight up, a red solo cup in one hand and her middle finger of the other raised. They had just beaten Cynthia Rose and Stacie at a game of Chicken, and were clearly both doing their victory cheer.  
  
“So?” Chloe asks, and Beca rolls her eyes before giving her a look.  
  
“So isn’t that kinda not appropriate for a kid to see? Aren’t I supposed to be like, some kind of role model or some shit like that?”  
  
“Who says role models can’t celebrate their victories?” Chloe teases, returning the look with an innocent one of her own. Beca points to her hands in the picture.  
  
“I really don’t think that’s the kind of celebration Bella should be introduced to for like, another ten years. At least. Probably more. Weren’t you gonna work with kids at one point, shouldn’t you know that?”  
  
Chloe shrugs, glancing back down at the picture. “With you and Cynthia Rose as her aunts, I’m pretty sure Bella will be familiar enough with that particular gesture long before she’s ten. Besides, this is Stacie’s daughter we’re talking about, you really don’t think seeing that picture will just make her laugh? When she’s old enough to really see it, I mean.”  
  
“Dude, it’s not gonna be me who slips up and says or does something I’m not supposed to around the kid. You remember when I accidentally said fuck that one time when we were all visiting Stace after the USO tour? I thought Aubrey was gonna finally kill me.” She shakes her head as she turns the page, but Chloe can see the smile threatening to tug at her lips and it just makes her own twitch. The older woman leans closer, pressing a kiss against the crook of her neck.  
  
“Bree wouldn’t kill you,” she assures her, trying to keep at least a touch of seriousness in her voice. “She knows that would make me sad, and Aubrey hates it when I’m sad.”  
  
“Anyone in their right mind hates it when you’re sad,” she hears Beca mumble, and then she tilts her head just a little. “Though I don’t know how many people can really say that Aubrey’s ever in her right mind.”  
  
She lets out a sharp yelp when Chloe pinches her hip, and it makes it awfully hard to keep her attempt at a glare in place.  
  
“Careful, that’s one of my best friends you’re talking about,” she warns as seriously as she can manage while Beca rubs at the spot she pinched.  
  
“Well it’s true,” she grumbles, and then her lips curl into her patented smirk. “But then, you’re a little crazy too, so of course you’re gonna stand up for her.”  
  
“You’re lucky I have a cat on my lap right now, otherwise you’d pay for that.”  
  
“Hey dude, I just call it as I see it. Crazy attracts crazy.”  
  
Chloe lets out a low hum, raising an eyebrow. “Guess you must be the craziest of us all then, since you love me.”  
  
Beca wrinkles her nose, making a face. “Ew, gross.” A beat, and her expression relaxes. “Yeah, I do.”  
  
The warmth that’s taken up permanent residence in Chloe’s chest for the past nine months rises again, and she smiles. “I love you too.”  
  
The conversation dies for a little bit after that, and they turn their attention back to the photo album. Now it’s Chloe who rests her head on Beca’s shoulder, absentmindedly petting Dixie while she watches the images of the past flash by in Beca’s lap. They’re flipping through history - their history, their sisters’ history - and each and every image brings the moment back to each of them almost in full detail. It was nice to relive the memories by herself, but it’s even nicer to relive them with Beca beside her, and Chloe’s fairly certain it will be even better tomorrow with their family all around them as well.  
  
They get to the end of the book, and there’s an envelope attached to the last page, _For Bella and Stacie_ written in Beca’s simple handwriting across the flap. Beca brushes her fingertips over the bump they can see at the bottom of the envelope, but she doesn’t fish the item out. Chloe knows it’s a thumbdrive, and she’s absolutely giddy at the thought of Stacie getting to it tomorrow.  
  
“She’s going to absolutely love it, Becs,” she tells her, pressing her cheek a little more firmly into her girlfriend’s shoulder.  
  
She feels Beca’s head lean against hers, and holds in a content sigh.  
  
“Yeah? I think it came together pretty well. I would’ve thought it’d be easier to get Amy in the recording studio, but Miss Millionaire was busy for like ever apparently.” She gives another roll of her eyes, though there’s that touch of amused affection that typically comes with it when Beca’s referring to her favorite college roommate. “I would’ve liked to play around with her song just a little longer, but I think it still came out alright.”  
  
Chloe pulls back then, just enough to give the younger woman a look. “Beca, I have never heard anything you’ve made and thought it was just ‘alright.’ Everything you touch turns to magic. Plus this is the Bellas we’re talking about, so I have no doubt every single song is going to be aca-awesome.”  
  
Beca shakes her head, but the edges of her mouth twitch. “When is the aca thing gonna die? It was always bad, but now it’s just awful. Theo gives me a look every time I slip up and say it to him. Which like, doesn’t happen a lot, but it’s definitely happened enough.”  
  
The older woman shifts, moving until her mouth hovers next to the brunette’s ear.  
  
“Don’t pretend you don’t love it,” she whispers, and giggles when Beca shivers. She knows it’s more to do with the way her breath brushes against her ear than the words themselves, but she still loves every single reaction she can pull out of the younger woman. She’s loved it from the first year they met, and she loves it just as much now. She just has different ways of pulling reactions out of Beca now that she definitely didn’t have that first year, and boy does she enjoy using them.  
  
“Stop it,” Beca tells her, voice clipped in that way Chloe knows means she doesn’t actually want her to stop, but she just grins and rests her chin on Beca’s shoulder.  
  
“Do you have a favorite?” she wants to know, and Beca stares ahead at nothing in particular, head tilting to the side. Chloe knows she’s going over each song on the thumb drive in her mind, running through them before giving her answer.  
  
“Mm, they’re all pretty good,” she says. “I think Stacie will really like the cover of _Rockabye_ that Cynthia Rose and Lilly did.”  
  
“Esther,” Chloe corrects her, and Beca gives her an exasperated look but nods.  
  
“Right, Esther.” Her hand closest to Chloe drops away from the album to the redhead’s knee, and begins to tap against it. It’s one of Chloe’s favorite Beca quirks. “Gotta admit, I really love our cover of _Dear Theodosia_ though. Probably shouldn’t play favorites with that one but…” She shrugs as she trails off, and Chloe shifts just enough so she can wrap her fingers around Beca’s.  
  
“We are pretty great,” she jokes before pressing a quick kiss to Beca’s shoulder. “You could even say we’re-”  
  
“Don’t say it!” Beca tries to cut her off, but Chloe’s grin just grows.  
  
“-Aca-mazing.”  
  
“Okay, that’s it, I’m done with you,” Beca states, shaking her head. “I can’t take this anymore.”  
  
Despite her words she doesn’t move, doesn’t so much as loosen her grip on Chloe’s hand, and the redhead presses her lips back to her shoulder to try to suppress her laugh.  
  
“Aww come on Becs, you know you love me.”  
  
“Nope, not anymore, you’ve extinguished the love with your aca-vocabulary. We had a good run, but I’m out.”  
  
Chloe feigns a pout, and then bats her eyelashes. “You sure? There’s nothing I can do to win you back?” She lifts Dixie off of her lap and sets her down on the free space on the other side of her, and then swings a leg over Beca’s lap until she’s straddling her.  
  
For her part, Beca tries to ignore her, but Chloe doesn’t miss the way her eyes dip briefly down the loose tank top she’s wearing. It’s fleeting, but enough to tell her she’s already got her girlfriend right where she wants her.  
  
“Sorry Chlo, but sometimes a girl’s just gotta put her foot down and say enough’s enough. It’s probably better this way, really.”  
  
Chloe lets out a dramatic sigh before leaning back and pretending to frown. She can already see Beca watching her out of the corner of her eye, and the fingers still wrapped up in her own squeeze a little tighter, probably inadvertently. She knows Beca hates seeing her frown, even when it’s all for show, and it makes it harder to fight back her smile. Somehow she manages to, and then she brings their hands up just long enough to drop a kiss to Beca’s knuckles.  
  
“Well I gotta respect your decision, Becs. If you’re out, you’re out. I’ll go start packing my things.” She sees something flash across Beca’s face, the smallest hint of what might be real worry beginning to crease her brow, but Chloe rises off of the futon and her lap. She starts humming the second she starts moving, and within that second the look on Beca’s face changes. Chloe just flashes her a wink before releasing her hand and beginning to walk away, and that’s when she actually starts singing.  
  
“ _You know just what to say, shit that scares me. I should just walk away but I can’t move my feet. The more I know you the more I want to. Something inside me has changed, I was so much younger yesterday._ ”  
  
She’s swaying her hips much more than is necessary as she leaves the room, and she hears the sharp breath Beca takes just before she can turn the corner into the hallway. She smirks to herself as she sings, knowing it won’t be long, and that smirk grows when she’s barely taken more than a few steps down the hallway and she already feels arms wrapping around her waist.  
  
“ _I didn’t know that I was starving till I tasted you_ ,” Beca sings against her ear, and it’s enough to send electricity skittering across her skin. “ _Don’t need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo_.”  
  
Chloe joins back in and they’re naturally harmonizing in that way they’ve been able to do practically since the first time they met.  
  
“ _By the way, by the way, you do things to my body, and I didn’t know that I was starving till I tasted you._ ”  
  
“You fight dirty, Beale,” Beca murmurs in her ear, and it sends a shiver down Chloe’s spine that she tries her best to ignore.  
  
“It’s one of the reasons you love me, Mitchell,” she replies, turning in Beca’s hold until they’re facing each other. Her arms fall against the younger woman’s shoulders, and she feels Beca’s arms simply tighten a little around her waist. Dark blue eyes meet her own, and her breath almost catches at the look she finds in them.  
  
“Yeah,” Beca readily admits, “Yeah it is. One of the many reasons I love you.”  
  
Chloe smiles, this one soft and sure, and then leans down and presses a slow kiss to Beca’s lips. As with every one of their kisses, their mouths simply mold together as though this is what they were originally created for, and she can feel Beca hum into it. Her fingers are still tapping out the beat of the song against the small of her back, and it’s all enough to leave Chloe feeling just the slightest bit dizzy in the best possible way.  
  
“I love you too,” she murmurs when she pulls away, eyes opening even though she can’t remember exactly when she gave them the order to close in the first place. Beca’s open as well, and she gives Chloe the same look she’s seen in them countless times before, and once again she’s left wondering how it took them so long to realize just how crazy in love with each other they’ve always been. But just like every other time she’s wondered that Beca gives her a little grin and she remembers that it really doesn’t matter. She leans forward again and this time Beca initiates the kiss, and they’re lost in the feel of each other for what could easily be the millionth time, and Chloe absolutely loves it.  
  
It’s maybe four o’clock in the morning and the rain is still coming down in sheets just outside the windows. In a few hours they’ll need to be getting ready to go to their niece’s first birthday party and see all of their sisters for the first time since they came back from the USO tour, but right now they’re both content to just sway in their little hallway. There’s no music except for what’s playing in their heads, but that doesn’t stop them from swaying anyway. Chloe knows that they are music, and lets the rhythm of them simply fill her up until her body hums with it.  
  
It was unexpected, this thing with Beca. Eight years ago when she was standing next to Aubrey at the activities fair she never would have guessed that the brunette with the many piercings who’d scoffed at the idea of joining an a capella group would be the same woman pressed up against her now, but here they are. Beca Mitchell walked into her life without even meaning to, and now their songs have been interwoven so completely it’s hard to remember what they sounded like separately.  
  
And it is by far the best mashup Choe has ever heard.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone curious, the list of songs mentioned in this fic are listed below. 
> 
> "Rockabye" - Clean Bandit  
> "Dear Theodosia" - Hamilton  
> "Starving" - Hailee Steinfield & Grey


End file.
